Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered officials on Wednesday to enforce a ban on the smuggling of cows in the state.

An illegal slaughterhouse in Choka Ghat area of Varanasi which was sealed by the authorities.(PTI Photo)

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered officials on Wednesday to enforce a ban on the smuggling of cows in the state.

Adityanath also directed police officials to prepare an action plan for the closure of illegal abattoirs, news agency PTI reported.

The 44-year-old Adityanath is the head priest of Gorakhpur’s influential Gorakhnath shrine. Also, he is a five-term parliamentarian from Gorakhpur and considered a hardline Hindutva leader.

After his swearing-in as the Uttar Pradesh CM, police launched a crackdown on slaughterhouses.

The action was in line with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s pre-poll promise to shut down illegal slaughterhouses in the state. The party secured a landslide victory in the February-March assembly elections.

Beef and the slaughter of cattle are illegal Uttar Pradesh -- like in most states across the country.